It's Saturday, right?

No, wait.

Atticus is home not because we're having a freakish time warp of consecutive Saturdays, but because it's Christmas vacation.

Ah, yes.

So, we're catching up on some reading:

The Mysterious Benedict Society books (Anne, Betsy, me)

Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me (thanks, Lissa, for recommending it -- Anne, Betsy and I really loved it)

Pioneer Girl and On the Banks of Plum Creek (Ramona's read aloud) and various Christmas books 

The Titan's Curse (me -- I promised Anne and Betsy that I'd get caught up on the Percy Jackson series, as they've read them all and can't wait for me to finish them)

Nick Hornby's How to Be Good (me -- not for young readers, by the way, and a language warning for those who will want to know -- my favorite line so far {in reference to the narrator's eight-year-old daughter}: "It seems to me now that the plain state of being human is dramatic enough for anyone; you don't need to be a heroin addict or a performance poet to experience extremity. You just have to love someone.")

Atticus may be reading the Graham Greene I gave him for Christmas, or he may just be watching some sports. I think some team called the Something-Husker-Something did something last night on TV. Some Bowl thing.  I'm not really a fan.

I was reading.

Favorite Version of "A Christmas Carol"?

Well, certainly the 1951 version is a classic.  Alastair Sim makes a marvelous Scrooge. Delightful, really. However, I've always had one little gripe about this version. Actually, it's a big gripe about a thing that should be little but isn't.  Tiny Tim.  In this version, he's a very tall-y Tim, and it annoys me.  Scrooge should not look as if he's about to fall over from the weight of Tiny Tim.

The 1962 Mr. Magoo version? Okay, it's not really in the running, but I had to mention it because when I was four, it was in the running and even that badly animated Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come gave me nightmares.

What about the 1984 George C. Scott version?  Yes, yes, the score is heavy-handed and downright silly in a few spots (such as when Belle tells Ebenezer she hopes he'll be happy in the life he's chosen and the music pounds us over the head with the significance of what is to come) but I can forgive it all its flaws because of Scott.  I think he's the quintessential Scrooge.  And I love David Warner and Susannah York as the Cratchits in this one, and Tiny Tim is actually tiny and very cute and I adore him.  This version wins the "brings me to tears" tally, and it's my number one.   We just watched this one with the girls on Sunday night, and they loved it.

What about you?

Feast of the Holy Innocents

When [the Magi] had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Arise, take the young child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him."
 

When he arose, he took the young child and His mother by night and departed into Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt have I called My Son." When Herod realized that he had been made a fool of by the Magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the Magi.

Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the Prophet: "A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, for they were no more." ~~ Matt. 2:13-18

*****
Today the Church honors the innocent children slaughtered at Herod's hand, the martyrs who died for Christ without even knowing of Him in this life. For a beautiful commentary, see today's reading at Universalis (scroll down to "A sermon of St Quodvultdeus.")

And today, I also think of the holy innocents killed each day through abortion. St. Quodvultdeus wrote

"You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart. You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong your own life, though you are seeking to kill Life himself ..."

and in these few, powerful words reached the core of the issue. The issue, frighteningly often, is fear. Fear drives many women to abortion: fear of one's own failure, fear of the responsibility of parenthood, fear of financial, health or emotional problems, fear of the father of the baby (do you know how many abortions are coerced? See links such as this article at The Eliot Institute, but please be forewarned that it is difficult reading.)

A woman considering abortion might imagine that if she "accomplishes her desire" she can "prolong her own life" -- in other words, she believes the lie (as Herod did) that removing the child from the picture will solve the problem.

But the child -- like Jesus in Herod's life -- cannot simply be removed. Jesus is Life Himself. The child in the womb, so intimately connected to his mother (even to a mother who does not want to, or is afraid to, acknowledge the connection) is a connection to Life. Removing the child does violence not only to the innocent baby's body but to the mother's relationship with Life Himself. She becomes a modern-day Herod, driven by a fear that destroys her heart and her soul.

A post-abortive woman, if she doesn't come to see the reality of the act, reject it, and repent of it, will sink more and more deeply into a defense of it, to the point of irrationality. But, if she turns to God, to Life, He can and will restore her heart, her life and her connection to Him.

There is hope. There is healing. And all the saints in heaven, including the Holy Innocents, are praying for it.

For more on the aftermath of abortion, see the following links:

The Eliot Institute
Rachel's Vineyard
Hope After Abortion
The National Office of PostAbortion Reconciliation and Healing
Operation Outcry.

For a beautiful shrine dedicated to the unborn, see The Shrine of the Holy Innocents.

*****

Finally, when I think of Holy Innocents, I also think of those babies lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, and sudden infant death. I think of every parent who has ever lost a child of any age, in any way.  So, today, I am praying for all the grieving parents of all holy innocents everywhere, children who have died too soon ... for all who, having been open to life, have suffered in seeing a life lost.

May you feel God's peace and comfort on this solemn but beautiful feast day.

May you feel the assurance that we will see our lost children again.

from the archives: Christmas Every Day

An old post, but something I always think about during the Twelve Days of Christmas and beyond:

Christmas Every Day?

We hear it all around us: “I love this time of year -- people are so generous! Why can’t every day be like Christmas?"

I asked the same question before I became a Christian. For me, "Christmas time" began right after Thanksgiving, when I started shopping, baking and getting caught up in “the Christmas Spirit.” It held no religious meaning for me, but there was something so attractive about it ... something warm and glowing, something that whispered community and love. Whatever the something was that made people feel so good -- and in my unbelieving days I wanted to think it was nothing more than a good story by Charles Dickens -- I wanted a little piece of it.

After I was baptized, I fell in love with that “something” -- Jesus Christ. I finally knew the Source of all that community and love, and I wanted to share the good news. When people wondered why every day couldn’t be Christmas I said, “It can! Become a Christian!” Jesus was the wellspring of the generosity, the love, the desire to give. He was the very definition of Christmas that I had been missing all those years.

I started to see everything about Christmas in a new way. When the Christmas season ended and people complained of how dull and gray January can be, I thought about how we could carry Christmas into every day of the year, because Jesus is always with us. The things that make Christmas special are the things we are called to do in our daily Christian life: love, give of ourselves, share with the poor, and celebrate our Lord. However, though I tried to keep “that Christmas spirit” every day, I instinctively knew that real life wasn’t like that. “All good things must come to an end,” and so it seemed with the joys of the Christmas season.

Five years after my baptism, I was received into the Catholic Church, and I learned that we can live our Christian lives even more fully than “trying to see every day as Christmas” (which wasn’t quite working for me anyway.) Through the liturgical year, we enter deeply into every aspect of Jesus’s life. We wait with anticipation through Advent, live with joy through Christmas, fast in the days of Lent, and rejoice again in the Easter season. We experience the joy of our Savior’s birth, and we feel the desert of life without Him, the suffering of His passion and death, and the joy of His resurrection more deeply when we live our lives in rhythm with the Church’s liturgy.

The Church, our earthly mother left to us by our Lord, knows what we need. In giving us a liturgical calendar she has given us a prescription for how to live each and every day. Are we getting dry in our prayer, losing touch with God? She gives us Lent, to help us examine our lives, make a new sacrifice, renew a promise. Are we struggling through the desert? Just in time to save us, the beauty of Easter arrives, with the joy of delighting in what was “lost” during Lent. Easter is celebrated for a full week on the church calendar, an “octave”, because one day is not enough to contain this great feast. Are we caught up in the “commercialism” of Christmas? Mother Church gives us Advent, to slow us down and teach us to patiently watch and wait. She then gives us twelve days of Christmas -- again, the joy of the celebration cannot be contained in one day. Then there is the twelfth night, and the feast of the Epiphany -- we get to celebrate again, and observe the day that the Magi brought gifts to Jesus. Even in “ordinary time” there are feasts, memorials, and observances of saints’ days that help to remind us of our vocation, the state of our relationship with God, the depth of our prayer lives.

As a new Christian, I was on the right track when I discovered that every day could, in some way, be Christmas. But I was missing a big part of the puzzle. The liturgical calendar supplied the last of the missing pieces. I have delighted in the ways living the liturgical year deepens and revitalizes my spiritual life, including my prayer life.

A wise mother knows that her children can’t celebrate all the time -- every party has an end. Can every day be Christmas? No, but every day can be Christ-filled, imbued with spiritual meaning as we follow, re-enact and celebrate the events of our Lord’s earthly life. We can thank our wise mother, the church, for the wisdom of such a gift, at Christmas and always.

Get my drift?

Anne-with-an-e suggested that post title.

Because, of course, we've got drifts everywhere, thanks to the 18 inches of snow we've gotten:

 

 

And it hasn't stopped snowing yet. We'll see what today brings, but they're saying the snow should move on by tomorrow.  Plenty of shoveling and snowman-building in our future, methinks.

*****

We made it to Christmas Eve Mass.  The girls were praying all day that we'd be able to go and although the snow started here on Wednesday (I think -- at this point, it's all one huge, white blur to me) there was quite a lull on Thursday afternoon. So, we got to Mass without any real trouble, although by the time we headed home, it was snowing and blowing again. A lot.  We said a prayer of thanksgiving when we pulled into the driveway, and said quite a few more throughout the evening when we nearly lost power a number of times.  But, the power stayed on, we enjoyed our dinner of hor d'oeuvres (though I later got sick ... urgh ... must be a virus, because everyone else was fine, so no food poisoning) and Santa Claus came through. He left a lot of books this year -- always a good thing. He ate all of Atticus's fudge.  And he put Baby Jesus in the nativity set manger, as he always does.  Ramona checked to make sure of that. 

Good job, Santa.

*****

Grandma and Grandpa sent Ramona her dream doll -- an American Girl Rebecca doll. I don't think Rebecca left Ramona's arms yesterday, except for a brief art session that resulted in this portrait:

and to have her clothes changed about seventeen times.  At one point, as Ramona was showing me the versatility of Rebecca's shawl, I said, "Wow, you're pretty good at this accessorizing stuff," and she replied, "All it takes is a little imagination and the perfect doll."

*****

Happy Feast of St. Stephen!

On Christmas Day

And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.

~~ John 1:14




(painting: Adoration of the Shepherds, by Caravaggio, 1609)

from the archives: Nat King Cole and Christmas Christians

Two from the archives:

How a Secular Christmas Song Became "Our Song" (or, Gifts from the Heart are Still the Best)

We hadn't been married very long and we didn't have much money. It was almost Christmas and although we weren't Christians we always gave each other gifts. The pickings would be slim this year, though, as the budget for presents was non-existent.

Atticus knew that I loved Nat King Cole's smoky voice crooning The Christmas Song. I had described it as "almost perfect." But this was in the days before digital music and mp3 players. I could hear my favorite song of the season only if it happened to come on the radio, as I didn't own the album. Atticus wanted to buy it for me, but our budget was so tight that even a new cassette tape (remember cassette tapes?) wasn't a possibility that year.

It was Christmas Eve, and I had to work. Feeling a little disheartened that we didn't have much to give one another, I was nevertheless looking forward to the meal that Atticus would no doubt have ready when I got home.

When I reached our apartment, I put my key in the lock and thought, "It's awfully quiet in there." I opened the door and found a candlelit room, heard a click, and then Nat's smooth voice. Atticus took my hand and we danced.

My dear, sweet husband had scrounged around our apartment, found a blank tape, and then waited. He had vigilantly stationed himself by the radio all day long as he cooked, waiting to hear and capture that song. He waited and waited some more, and finally hit the "record" button when the coveted song made its appearance.

He captured it; he captured me again. And ever since, when Nat starts to sing, we dance.

*****

Christmas Christians

They're planning their descent into the churches.

At Christmas time a lot of unfamiliar faces show up at Mass. They jostle for seats and are a little louder than the regular Mass-goers. They've forgotten when to stand and when to kneel. Most of us know we'll have to arrive early for Christmas Mass if we want to get "a good seat."

There's a temptation to get annoyed with these people. They show up only at Christmas and perhaps at Easter ... They may not contribute much to the parish, either financially or in the form of "time and talent" ... They fill up the parking lot, mash their coats and body heat against us in the overcrowded pews, and can be irritating enough that they leave us with the vague, uncomfortable feeling that we need to get to confession even though we were just there.

That's the temptation. But we don't have to give in to it. Now that I'm in the fold of the Catholic Church -- no longer a stranger and sojourner but a citizen among the saints and not-so-saintly -- I give tearful thanks for the gift of my faith, and I pray that at least one of those Christmas Christians will be touched by God this year, touched so deeply that he or she will be moved to venture back to Mass again in January. Maybe once more in the spring. Maybe on a weekly basis by June. Into the confessional by next September? Then, finally, back into full communion with our one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church.

Which one will it be? Is it that sweet woman behind me, the one with whom I'll exchange a sign of peace? The bored teenager sitting in front of us and texting throughout the Mass? Will it be the man who scowls as we slide into the pew, forcing him to move down and relinquish his spot on the aisle?

Since I don't know which one it will be, I pray that I will not be a stumbling block to any of them. I pray that I will not be the reason they go home griping about churchy hypocrites who say they're Christians but don't act like Christ at all.

I pray that some souls, somewhere, this Christmas season, will be touched by the Christ Child.

And I pray that I will not get in the way of His hand reaching out to touch theirs.

The Most Important Thing to Do Before Christmas

We all got it done this weekend.

And it doesn't cost a thing.

You don't have to wrap it, put a bow on it, bake it or deliver it.

But it delivers you.

Confession.

Read a little more about it here, and here. 

In Which I Thank Al Kresta and Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle (or, "Atticus Remembers That His Wife Wrote a Book")

Atticus was driving home from work the other day, and turned on the radio to catch a little Kresta in the Afternoon.  Just as he clicked on, he heard, "So that's E-D-M ..." and Atticus thought, "That's funny, it sounds like they're spelling my name."

Al Kresta continued, "... I-S-T-E-N?" and Atticus thought, "Huh. Are they talking about a relative of mine or something?" Upon hearing, "The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary," he realized that, yes, they were indeed talking about his closest relative, his wife, and the book she wrote.

The show was Al Kresta's annual book recommendation special, and the lovely Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle recommended my Rosary book as a pick of the year.  Thank you, Donna-Marie! I'm surprised and humbled to be in such terrific company. And thanks to Al Kresta for including the book on his site.

The complete list of book recommendations is here. It includes picks from Dave Forsmark, Mike Aquilina, Teresa Tomeo, Carl Olsen, Rori Hoipkemier, Doug Keck, Steve Ray, Steven Greydanus, Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle, and Al Kresta. Great Christmas ideas there, either for giving or for last-minute hinting.

And, speaking of Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle, she is an amazingly busy woman (or should I say missionary?)  It looks like she's on the radio today, in a couple of different places, her new book is out, and she'll soon have a show for Catholic moms on EWTN.

Poetry Friday

This poem reminds me of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, of small, needed kindnesses,  and of the way that children's eyes can pierce through a deceptive veil and penetrate something invisible to the rest of us.



little tree

by e.e. cummings

little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower

who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don't be afraid

look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box

(read the rest here at The Writer's Almanac.)

The Poetry Friday round up today is at Susan Writes.

A Predictable Rerun

I wrote this in '05, my first year of blogging, and have rerun it each December since then.

I'm rerunning again, because that's part of what makes me so predictable. 

And, it's all still true, except that we no longer need babysitters, and Ramona now gets easily through the Mass. 

And the ending?

Predictable and true.


*********************************************

I'm So Predictable 

My husband and I have a holiday tradition. Every year, close to Christmas, we get a babysitter, go out for Chinese food, buy all the last-minute ...

** (WARNING: Santa spoiler ahead) **

... stocking stuffers and generally fall in love all over again -- with each other, with our children, and with the magic of Christmas. We talk about our days, about my parents and his, about holiday travel plans, and about how we'll keep the youngest child happy and calm during the long Christmas Eve Mass. And we talk about how we can't believe how drastically our Christmases have changed over the years.

You see, when we married, we didn't want children. Children were nice enough for other people, but not for us. We didn't want the mess, the commitment, the responsibility. We were happy to be "child free" as opposed to "childless."

Then something happened. I became a Christian.

Oops. Short-circuit in the selfishness department. I began to long for a child. Soon, Atticus's heart caught up with mine in the procreation debate, and we set forth to create a family. After some heartbreaking miscarriages, we had Anne. But only one child, Atticus said. One child is enough.

Then I became a Catholic.

Oops. Short-circuit in the "openness to life" department. We had Betsy. Several more heartbreaking miscarriages later, God awarded us with Ramona, and here we are. Falling in love again at Christmas time, and crazy, head-over-heels in love with our children.

And all because of of a Child born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago. Had Mary said, "No, thank you, I'd like to remain child-free," I would be childless. There would have been no conversion, no short-circuit, and most certainly, no joy. How does one thank God for that?

I always seem to do it in the same old, tired way.

I cry.

May you, too, shed some tears of ineffable gratitude this Christmas.

O Antiphons!

Start today!

What are they?

This page at Catholic Culture explains it all. 

This page includes a great activity (that will probably go in your Advent file, since I've given you no warning or time to prepare.)

And, see this thread on the 4Real Learning boards to see a parade of "O Antiphon Houses."

Ramona Said ....

As we were talking about babies, and about how nice it is to have them around, Ramona said, "Yes, babies are a common household object."

Here's Ramona, when she was a baby:

Sigh. We haven't had that common household object around for such a long time.

*****

While Ramona and Betsy were painting some Christmas crafts yesterday, Ramona asked if I could please change the water they were using to rinse their brushes.

"This water is vile!" she complained.

I would have simply called it "gray" but I like her passion.

Need Christmas gift ideas?

Don't miss Lissa's post at Here in the Bonny Glen.

Poetry Friday: Advent, by Thomas Merton

I love the fresh start of Advent.

Liturgically, we're in a new year, full of possibilities.

This is the time for "New Year's Resolutions." Advent -- a season pregnant with hope and promise, with anticipation, and with the fear and trembling of working out our salvation -- is the perfect time to assess our spiritual lives.

The liturgical calendar is such a gift. "Time falls like manna at the corners of the wintry earth," as Fr. Merton says.


Today, a beautiful poem from a favorite:

Advent

by Thomas Merton

Charm with your stainlessness these winter nights,

Skies, and be perfect! Fly, vivider in the fiery dark, you quiet meteors,

And disappear.

You moon, be slow to go down,

This is your full!

The four white roads make off in silence

Towards the four parts of the starry universe.

Time falls like manna at the corners of the wintry earth.

We have become more humble than the rocks,

More wakeful than the patient hills.

(Read the whole poem here.)

*****

The round up today is at Random Noodling.

Feast after Feast!

Two wonderful feasts are approaching! First, December 12 is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.


My personal devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe began about nine years ago, and is chronicled here.

And, I began last year to try doing a bit more with the kids on this feast. My girls' godmother helped out in that department when she had the kids put together a little play about St. Juan Diego, which was just delightful.


This same godmother is the one who originally led me to the St. Lucia braided bread recipe that we always look forward to.  You can visit this post for more details and links on our St. Lucia celebrations, and this one for the recipe for the bread.

You can't ruin this bread! Don't be afraid of it. If I can do it, you can, too. And you'll be so happy you did. It's beautiful and delicious. And, it will be gone before you can say, "Gaudete Sunday." 

One way to know what Atticus did last night

is to make note of the first thing Ramona said to me this morning:

"Mommy, may I have a tiny bit of fudge?"

We love that fudge. 

Today's Spiritual Wisdom Brought to You by Ramona

Last night at Mass, I whispered to Ramona that the reading from Genesis was exactly the one we'd talked about earlier in the day.

She had mentioned that statues of Mary often depict Our Lady "standing on a snake." So, we talked about where we could find that in the Bible, and what it meant.

In summarizing, I said, "So, you see, Mary carried in her womb the One who would conquer the devil and save us."

"So," said Ramona, "that's almost as good as being the One who did it. In a way, she kind of did it, too."

Yes, sweetie, she did.

Mary said yes to God's plan.

Pray for us, today, Blessed Mother, that we'll always say yes.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Whether you have a picture-perfect day for the memory book, or one similar to what I've reposted below, I pray that you will feel the Lord's presence and the intercession of His Blessed Mother today.

Remember that He is with us in sickness, health, crankiness and cheerful days, in our plans and in the dashing of our plans.

And our Blessed Mother is praying for us through it all.



If you have young children, you might appreciate this repost from 2005, when Ramona was just three years old, and Anne and Betsy were eleven and nine:

We went to the vigil Mass last night, and as Mass experiences go, it wasn't one for the memory book.

Our day was packed with activity, but I had allowed enough time for us to sanely prepare for Mass. After all, as I told the children, "Mass is the most important thing we'll do today, so we work everything around that, not the other way around."

And yet, I somehow managed to end up with the family running late. And, because 5:30 is the bewitched hour for three-year-olds, of course Ramona Quimby cried as we left the house and she fell asleep on the way. Sigh. That meant she wouldn't be able to sleep later until about 9:30 or 10 p.m. We walked into the Church just after Mass had begun (something we never do, something I really dislike doing, and something that means we'll end up sitting in the back, which I also dislike.) We slipped into an available space in the back and I do have to at least credit Anne and Betsy with not complaining about the seating (they dislike the back rows, too.)

Ramona slept through most of Mass (meaning her bedtime was getting pushed back to 10:30 or 11....) It was crowded, and I couldn't hear the homily. Betsy kept coughing, and Anne was sniffling and Ramona would wake up only enough to protest that my tired arms were trying to transfer her to Daddy's strong ones.

But you know what? He was still there. I still received Christ -- Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. No matter how hectic the preparation, no matter how distracted I was, no matter how far back we sat -- He was still there for me. Oh, to be so faithful.

Oh, and one more thing. On the way to Mass, as we prayed the decade of the Rosary that we always pray on the way, I had asked the Blessed Mother's intercession for Ramona (who was still crying at that point) at Mass. Could we get through this with relative peace? I asked. Well, I see now I should be more specific, but I was still grateful for the answer to prayer. Yeah, yeah, she didn't go to bed until almost 11, but she did get through Mass very well. Next time I'll try to itemize my requests.

And, hey, Moms of Young Children: it gets easier. Mass last night was a breeze. And a delight. And beautiful.

Hang in there. Our Lady is praying for you.

Painting by Bartolome Esteban Murillo.

How to Make Me Cry

1. Be my child.
2. Be so lovable that I think I'll burst about 90% of the time. 
3. Be almost grown up, say, oh, 13 and 16.
4. Help me decorate the Christmas tree.
5. Leave the room before I find the cardboard and Cheerio wreath, and the popsicle stick star, laden with glitter.
6. Be busy elsewhere in the house while I tear up and wonder how motherhood can move at the speed of light. 
7. You're done. Mission accomplished.

And About Those Gingerbread Houses ...

... here are the results of the Gingerbread House Decorating Party (minus three houses, as that family left before we got a picture taken):

Thanks, St. Nicholas!

For the socks! How did you know?

And there were chocolate coins, new Christmas ornaments and candy canes:

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

(And please pardon the horrible quality of the pictures ... my camera isn't working well ....)

Help! I Have Gingerbread Back!

Because I spent the day  hunched over the kitchen counter making and baking homemade (for the first time ever ... please pat me on my aching back) gingerbread for our first-ever homemade gingerbread houses.  Who knew it would be so time consuming?

I got six houses put together:

and after tomorrow they will be beautifully decked out for the holidays.

And for eating.

In the past, Santa has always left gingerbread house kits for the kids on Christmas morning. We then put them together sometime during the Twelve Days of Christmas.  This has always worked well because Santa shops the after-Christmas clearance sales, picks up three kits, and squirrels them away for the following year. Santa never wants the girls to eat those gingerbread houses though, because -- yuck -- how good could they be after sitting in my Santa's closet for a year?

But, last year, Santa struck out on the after Christmas clearance sales and there was nothing in the closet.  So this year, Santa got creative and domestic.  I suggested to Ramona that we try making delicious, edible ("We can really eat them?") homemade houses.  Then, I told her, we can just suggest to Santa that he skip the kits this year. She was all for it.

So today I baked. And assembled. And called my friend for frosting advice.  And asked Atticus, when he arrived home from work, if he came bearing wine. He hadn't.

"I thought you had some wine," he said.

"Not enough," I replied. And then made more royal frosting. Do you know how much of that stuff it takes to keep a roof on?

Tomorrow we'll add candy and other accoutrements and I'll soon report back on our progress. But for now I'm off to give my back a rest and enjoy a glass of something dry and red.

Poetry Friday: Reluctance

I really didn't get Robert Frost until I was older.

When I was in high school, I thought of him as the death poet, stopping by woods to think about that final nap, or as the rugged individualist, taking New England roads less traveled.

But as I grew up -- lived, moved, loved, worked, lost, made mistakes, grieved, hated, healed, and grew every year to love the shape and layering of words more dearly, I found that I also loved the roads Frost traveled.

I've been saving this one for the end of fall, for the real turn of weather that is winter upon us. Oh, I know ... winter may not arrive officially for a couple of weeks, but now that we are in the Advent season, and we saw our temperatures dive this week from deliciously mild to twenty degrees, I must reluctantly admit that my beloved autumn is gone.  Of course, Frost is talking about a lot more here than reluctantly letting go of autumn rust and woodsy bonfires.  He leaves me in awe, at times, with the way he can take the simplest subject and turn it into a metaphysical wallop. 


Reluctance
by Robert Frost

Out through the fields and the woods
And over the walls I have wended;
I have climbed the hills of view
And looked at the world, and descended; ...

... Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?

(Go read the whole poem here.)

The Poetry Friday round up can be found at Wild Rose Reader. 

Things that make me go, "Huh?"

Martha Stewart telling me how to host a cookie swap.

I've never hosted a cookie swap. I don't think I'll ever host a cookie swap.

Just give me your cookies and no one will get hurt.

*****

People who don't like chocolate.

My friend Andrea still laughs at me for the time I served two kinds of cookies (this was not a swap, I'd just been baking): "These are chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, and these are just regular chocolate chip cookies, for people who don't like chocolate."  (That is how Andrea tells the story. I maintain that I said, "... for people who don't like chocolate as much.") She roared. She pointed out that people who don't like chocolate might actually prefer a cookie without chocolate.  I blinked stupidly. Uncomprehendingly. Huh?

*****

Why is everyone so interested in Tiger Woods?

*****

When people say, "I don't read much."

Huh?

*****

Nebraska weather.

*****

Morning people.
People who say, "I just never use email."
Yelling at a football game on TV.

*****

Being asked, "What's your five year plan?"

My Godson, the Feral Squirrel

We laughed out loud.

But, in all honesty, we think he looks much more like an irresistably huggable bear.

Bits and Pieces of Our Post-Thanksgiving Days

The turkey was eaten, the oyster dressing relished (by Atticus, anyway ... urgh), the bonfire blazed.

Atticus rediscovered cigars and gave them up again (all in the same night), the Black Friday deals were had, the children slept in, the Super Sister-in-Law did all the driving (thanks, Super Sister-in-Law!)

I ate three kinds of pie, read Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire, did oodles of laundry, decked out the house for Advent (in true No-Panic fashion), told Ramona -- roughly seventeen times -- that the chocolate Advent calendar starts on December 1st.

We played Scattergories, and I laughed out loud at Ramona's answer to Things You Save Up to Buy That Start with the Letter F: "Faux Fur Lined Coats."  (And, yes, she spelled faux correctly.)   I laughed again when Betsy's "H" answer to Kitchen Utensils was, "Hey! Who took my spatula?!"  and yet again at Anne-with-an-e's response to Things (that begin with F) That You Keep Hidden: "Feral Squirrels."

And we went to Mass and thanked God for Him, and our family, Sabbath rest and work to get up for on Monday.

How was your Thanksgiving?

Poetry Friday: November, by John Updike

Today, I am thankful for a multitude of blessings, including our books. Children's books, picture books, books of poetry, books of all kinds ... And I'm thankful for this poem from one of our books: A Child's Calendar, by John Updike.



November 
 by John Updike

The stripped and shapely
  Maple grieves
The ghosts of her
  Departed leaves.

The ground is hard,
  As hard as stone.
The year is old,
   The birds are flown.

And yet the world,
  Nevertheless,
Displays a certain
   Loveliness---


Read the rest of the poem here.

The Poetry Friday roundup is at Becky's Book Reviews.

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a blessed day.

I'm busy eating, but I'll be back soon.

"Thanks" seems like such a feeble word

(a quick rerun from the first autumn -- 2005 -- in which I was blogging. It's all still true....) 

I have so much to be thankful for, and so few words to express it.

Thanks.

I'm grateful.

Thank You, God.

Thanks a lot.

No, I mean it. Thanks a LOT.

Really, I can't thank You enough.

I really appreciate it.

I credit You with everything.

Did I mention that I'm grateful?

Thank You. All praise, glory and honor are Yours, Almighty Father. So ... um, thank You.

See what I mean?

It sounds so feeble, so piddly, so inadequate.

What I really want to say is that I can't believe that the God of the universe cares that my soul was once headed straight for hell and now I am, at least, looking in the right direction. How does He manage not only to care, but to make me believe that He cares? To feel His love? To know that He is with me, faithful to me, every moment of every day, even when I am not faithful to Him? How does He do that? And how do I thank Him?

I can't. I can only pray, and gaze upon Him, and cling to Him in all that I do.

And, in my feeble ways, tell Him "thank you" as often as possible.


A prayer of St. Bonaventure

Pierce,
O most sweet Lord Jesus,
my inmost soul with the
most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love,
and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity,
that my soul may ever languish and melt
with entire love and longing for Thee,
may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be
dissolved and to be with Thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee,
the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls,
our daily and supersubstantial bread,
having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.

May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee,
Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may
my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor;
may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life,
the fountain of widsom and knowledge,
the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure,
the fulness of the house of God; may it ever
compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee,
come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee,
and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with
umility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease
and affection, with perseverence to the end; and be Thou
alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches,
my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility,
my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment,
my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion,
my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind
and my heartbe ever fixed and firm
and rooted immovably.

Amen.

Quotes for a Tuesday

A few quotes on thankfulness, with a nod to Faith, who first linked to a page on gratitude at which I found these quotes:

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!

~~ Henry Ward Beecher


Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.

~~ Horace


We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

~~ Thornton Wilder

Book Review: Fire of God's Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist

I love quotes.

Quote books, quote websites, friends who send me quotes, great, obscure little quotes that pack a punch, quotes written on envelopes, and keeper quotes that leap out at me from the pages of a book in which I'm immersed, like a beloved friend showing up unexpectedly on my doorstep. 

I love my holy hour.

The quiet, the Real Presence, the candles, my husband praying next to me, the peace of prayer in the midst of a stormy world.

I love the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

I love that Jesus comes to me -- Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity -- each and every Sunday, and every other time I'm able to make it to Mass. I love that our Lord left us with priests, men whose hands and words miraculously deliver Him to us, in ways we cannot fully understand, but at the same time grasp with a sort of breathless gratitude.

And I love it when all these things come together.

My recent holy hour companion has been Fire of God's Love: 120 Reflections on the Eucharist, by Mike Aquilina. A collection of quotes from a wide range of sources, this book includes both the usual suspects -- St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Ignatius, St. Bernadette, and other sublime and saintly voices -- as well as more contemporary offerings from G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy Day, and J.R.R. Tolkien. You'll even find Conrad Hilton and Marshall McLuhan alongside St. Pio of Pietrelcina and St. John Vianney.

This little book is a rich resource for meditation on the goodness and generosity of the God who gives us Himself in the Eucharist. It will take me quite a long time to exhaust its possibilities for holy hour companionship.

And you can quote me on that.

Recent Musings

Me: Does anyone else find it disconcerting that the little cemetery is just down the road from that truck driving school?

*****

Anne-with-an-e: Would a vegetarian eat animal crackers?

*****

Me: Where's the balance? When you guys were little, you were dragging me out of bed at 5:30 in the morning. Now I have to drag you out of bed. When will it all balance out?

Betsy: When we're in our 30s and you're too old to care.

Anne-with-an-e: No, it'll balance out when we have kids and they drag us out of bed at 5:30.

*****

Ramona: And now, it's time for our next guest on "The Invisible Show"!


Me (laughing ....) What's the Invisible Show?


Ramona (solemnly whispering):  You shouldn't laugh, Mommy. You're the next guest.

*****

Remembering Forgetfulness on Poetry Friday

I am, just as Billy Collins predicted (in the recording of this poem's reading, found here) "intensely fond of" his poem Forgetfulness.

I had forgotten exactly why I liked it so much until I listened to it again this morning.  I think it has something to do with the poet.

What was his name again?

Oh, yeah.

Billy.
Collins.
Love him.
I think. 

Forgetfulness
by Billy Collins

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

~~~~~~~~~~

(Read and listen to the entire poem here, at Poets.org)

Don't forget -- Julie Larios has the Poetry Friday round up today at The Drift Record.

A question for my male readers

I'm doing a scientific survey.

Do men eat cookie dough?

Inquiring feminine Edmisten minds want to know.

Atticus insists that it's a purely chromosomal phenomenon. He says the cookie dough gene is carried on the second X chromosome along with the genes for calling houses "cute" and saying, "Let's meet for lunch!"

Let us know, guys.

Grumpy or Grateful? Join me at Faith and Family Live to find out

which one wins.

Please join me over there to read What I Get to Do.

The No-Panic Advent Series, in the right order this time

Updated in Nov., 2011: Please see this link for the tidied-up version of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the complete "No Panic" series for Advent, first run in 2008.

This is a monstrously long post.

I've gathered all of last year's posts together (in the proper order) to sidestep the problem of having to scroll backwards from the bottom of the archive/label page, which I know is really annoying. I haven't changed every '08-specific reference yet and haven't double-checked all the links, but I'll keep working to get those cleaned up.

In the meantime, I know my shockingly clever readers can figure it all out. 


A No-Panic Advent, Part I: The Jesus Stocking

The Jesus stocking is something I started when Anne-with-an-e was very young, and I was looking for ways to keep our Christmas focused on Jesus rather than all the (delightful and fun though they are) other trappings of the holiday.

It's a simple stocking (I keep thinking I should upgrade it to something worthy of our King, but on the other hand, I think perhaps He's pleased with the simplicity) and I used fabric paint to add His name.

What goes in the Jesus stocking? It can be whatever you like, but we've done it a couple of different ways.

Like the Thanksgiving Tree, each night at dinner, we all name something for which we're thankful. It's written on a small piece of paper, and added to the stocking. On Christmas day, it's fun to read all the blessings that were counted during Advent, from the littlest things (such as a tea party with Tigger), to grown-up concerns (such as being thankful that the car broke down in our driveway instead of twenty miles from home on a sub-zero day), to every-day-but-enormous joys (such as friendship, family and faith.) Here are some samples from years past:




Another idea for the Jesus stocking is to use it for corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Many of us are familiar with the idea of setting up a manger for baby Jesus and filling it with soft hay (we use yarn) in preparation for Christmas day.

The idea for the Jesus stocking is similar. Corporal and spiritual works of mercy, small sacrifices, kindnesses and prayers are recorded and dropped in the stocking as gifts for Jesus. The children are encouraged to fill Jesus's stocking with gifts throughout Advent.

For much of Advent, the Jesus stocking will be the only one hanging on the mantle (the small tree to the right is our Jesse Tree):


to remind us that He is at the center of the celebration to which we look forward with such joy. Surrounded by our favorite Advent books and calendars, this place of honor for the King is a constant reminder that what we anticipate in this season of hope is not a gift, but the Gift: our Lord and Savior.

Part II: Note some dates

First Sunday of Advent

December 5: St. Nicholas Eve (very important that St. Nicholas not go to bed without remembering to do a few things first)

December 6: St. Nicholas Day

December 8: Immaculate Conception (Holy Day!)

December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 13: St. Lucia

December 17: O Antiphons begin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you haven't observed all of these things in the past, do not -- I repeat, do not -- feel pressure to do it all. No one does it all.

You might want to pick one or two new things on which to focus -- and then, have fun with them. These observances are meant to deepen our faith and draw us closer to God. Getting stressed out about how well we do this stuff, or about whether we do it at all, doesn't deepen our faith; it just irritates us.

God doesn't want us to get irritated in preparation for His Son. That would sort of defeat the purpose of the Prince of Peace, wouldn't it? Peaceful and meaningful preparation is key. No panic necessary ... just keep your eyes fixed on the Prince of Peace.


Part III: O Night Divine!


Mary Ellen Barrett's Christmas blog, O Night Divine is the treasure chest from which you can pluck a few jewels for your Advent preparations and Christmas celebrations.


The archives are nicely organized in the left hand column so that you can easily find things such as crafts, teas, saint activities, and ideas that focus on the Blessed Mother. Scroll down a bit and find the feast days of the season. You'll also discover plenty of book suggestions, links to related sites, and categories for quick searching.



Part IV: Files

This one is simple.

Keep an Advent file. Bookmark good stuff on the computer, and keep a paper file, too.

Toss good ideas into your files as you stumble upon them. When you're halfway through Advent, or seven days into the Twelve Days of Christmas, and you discover a great new idea, don't kill yourself trying to implement it right now.

The idea will still be there next year. Most likely, you and your kids will still be here next year, too.

So, don't try to do it all.

That's what files are for: to hold all the great stuff you're not doing at the moment, but will, one day, do.


Part V: The Jesse Tree

Reader Keri asked about our Jesse Tree -- the "family scrapbook" as I call it -- and I want to expand a little bit on what we do.

Our Jesse Tree will soon reside on the hearth, awaiting its salt dough ornaments. This is probably one of the most "educational" Advent activities that we do. (Remember, though -- life is school, and school is life, so it's all educational .... ) I post a small sign next to the tree (just in case my children forget what I'm educating them about -- not that my kids ever forget such things ....) The sign reads, "The Jesse Tree ... Finding Jesus in the Old Testament" and that's exactly what a Jesse Tree helps us to do. It introduces us to the truth that Christianity is not a new idea, nor a religion dreamed up and perpetuated by a motley crew of fishermen and tax collectors. It is the fulfillment of God's story -- our story -- from the beginning of time.

Reading the Scriptures that lay the foundation for, and point us to, Jesus brings all those seemingly disconnected Bible stories together into a meaningful fabric, a tapestry of history that makes sense to even the youngest of children. When we compare it to a family's scrapbook, it becomes a metaphor children can easily understand. The symbols we hang on our tree are "snapshots" of the history of Jesus, which is our history, too.

The kids made our Jesse Tree ornaments a few years ago, out of salt dough. (My salt dough tends to break, so we have the fun of replacing ornaments every now and then.) I keep the ornaments right under the tree, within easy reach (though you may not want to do that if you have crawling babies or toddlers) for the daily reading and ceremonial hanging (does it count as a ceremonial hanging if children fight over who gets to do it? For young kids, I recommend scheduling the ceremonial hangings in a basic, "No fighting - your turn will come tomorrow," rotation.)

I began using our small, artificial Christmas tree as our Jesse tree just a few years ago. Before that, I dithered about, trying to find the best way to approach this activity. One year we did poster board and a hodgepodge of construction paper and 3-d ornaments; another year I searched in vain for the perfect tree branch to place in a pot, a la a friend's example. I was trying so hard to make it all perfect that year that I ended up abandoning the entire activity. Another year our tree was hastily thrown together on construction paper. I was pregnant with Ramona then, at a very tired age 41, and was extraordinarily pleased with myself for simply breaking out the glitter.

I was finally inspired to use our artificial tree by my friend, Johnna, who always has great craft and liturgical ideas. She began using their regular Christmas tree as a Jesse Tree, hanging Jesse ornaments throughout Advent, then taking those down an and putting up Christmas ornaments on Christmas Eve. I adapted the idea, and pulled out the old 4' tree that I'd been considering giving away. Our Jesse Tree tradition was finally settled. And, my kids were 11, 8 and 2. So. Huh. It took awhile.

And, what readings do we use? This took some time for me to figure out, too. I have to confess that for awhile, I reeeally disliked the Jesse Tree activity, because I couldn't find an easy, workable, all-in-one version of it anywhere. If one source had ornaments or other ideas I liked, it did not offer neatly corresponding readings. If I found a set of readings I liked, suddenly my ornaments no longer matched.

Harumph. Then, my English pal, The Bookworm came to the rescue, and we've settled in with a book she recommended.

The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean combines a picture/storybook with the Scripture readings we want to cover. I use both this book and a Bible to completely cover it all.

An important point to remember about the Jesse Tree -- and one that will keep you from falling into dislike of this activity -- is that it doesn't have to be done perfectly on schedule or legalistically. So what if you miss a day of readings here or there -- it's okay! You can catch up when you have time.

What you're aiming for -- the truly important thing -- is increased familiarity with Scripture, and a growing understanding that Jesus is present in the Old Testament.

In the same way that our little math students do a lot of the same addition and multiplication problems year in and year out, students of the Jesse Tree study "the same old thing" each year,with the result being steady and continued growth and knowledge. Don't look for it to be (though it might be -- I'm not ruling it out) immediately transforming. It's an activity that grows on you, that grows on your kids, and most of all, that increases everyone's fluency with the word of God. And with the Word of God.

My final assessment: it doesn't really matter what kind of tree and ornaments you use, or which readings you choose. What matters is that you're digging into Scripture. Your ornaments might be hastily assembled, glitter-glopped and slapped on poster board, or they may be carefully fashioned in the weeks before or during Advent. Your readings might come from one source while your ornaments are nabbed from another. You might make up your own set of readings and symbols, or you might find a ready-made kit that's perfect.

But, the bottom line is that you should do what works for you and your family, for your possibly-tired-or-pregnant-or-incapacitated body, your crafty or craft-challenged self, your one child or your many.

What matters most is focusing on Jesus as the celebration of His birth approaches.

Don't do what I did, and let the quest for "the perfect Jesse Tree" put a damper on what can be a great way to spend time with God's word. Relax and have fun with it, and keep that big picture -- the growth and knowledge that will come over several years of doing it -- in mind.


Part VI: Don't Sweat a Little Secularity

Or, "What Does Miss Piggy Have to Do with Advent?"

Unexpectedly, Miss Piggy became a part of our Advent traditions about thirteen years ago.

When Anne-with-an-e was very little, my mother gave us an Advent calendar that included twenty-four mini books to be read each day of the Advent season. It was a secular calendar that had Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog bringing the O. Henry story, The Gift of the Magi, to humorous life. My daughter delighted in the story and looked forward each year to the daily books, which we read, then hung by their decorative little ribbons on the tree.

One year, before Atticus came into the Catholic Church, I worried that I shouldn't include anything secular in our Advent traditions. I was considering leaving the Muppets in their box, as I was trying to impress upon the kids what the season was really all about. I was trying hard -- without my husband's help, and that made it seem a heavier burden -- to be sure that my children were focused on Jesus. Though well-intentioned, I think I was wrong.

That year, at the beginning of Advent, Anne immediately requested the Muppet Calendar. My heart was softened. I saw, finally and clearly, that this was a beautiful way to include my mother (who is not a Christian) in our Advent preparations. She lives far away and we see little enough of her as it is ... wasn't this a lovely way to make her a part of our focus on Jesus?

I let go of any worries about the little secular traditions that we did, and still do, include in Advent. The secularities we cling to, that are part of our shared family history, connect us to those in our family who are not connected to Jesus.

And, who am I to say that God can't work through a Muppet?


Part VII: Simple but Cherished Traditions

Here are a few more easy ways in which we observe the beginning of the new liturgical year, and count down the days until the real Christmas season! These are simple, but oh-such-cherished traditions.

The Advent Wreath

Pretty self-explanatory. We love ours. It's an old hand-me-down from the friend who introduced me to Catholicism. It's not about how the wreath looks -- it's imperfect and crooked, like I am. It's about what it reminds me of, what (and Who) it points to.

For nightly prayers, we like to use selections from Prayers and Customs of Advent and Christmas.

This page has prayers for the beginning of Advent, along with short daily prayers for each week. This page has some nice prayers for very young children. Some short Advent meditations are here. All of the prayers on this site are short and easy for families to use.

When we light the candles on the wreath each night, we divide up the "duties" (which are seen by the kids as fun and privilege, thus the early fighting over them which resulted in the division of duty.)

One child lights the candle, one reads the prayer, and one gets to snuff out the candle at the end of the meal (the antique candle snuffer we use makes this task especially attractive.) This way, everyone is involved, duties rotate and everyone is happy. Some nights, though, everyone reeeeeally wants to light a candle, or everyone reeeeeally wants to snuff a candle out. So, sometimes, I must admit, we relight candles just for the fun of it, and snuff them out again and again.

Because we're easily amused, I guess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daily Prayers
The girls and I pray together before breakfast every morning. (Let me amend that: unless something interrupts our routine, we pray together. If we have somehow missed morning prayer, it becomes obvious. In all of us. A hovering crankiness and irritability are sure signs that we forgot morning prayers.)

I vary our prayers with each liturgical season. Mounting a list of prayers on construction paper is a simple way to teach about liturgical colors. They know that if the prayers are on a green background, we're in ordinary time. During Advent, the prayers are in purple, on a purple background.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Advent Calendars

We read from our Muppet calendar every night. We also have another booklet-a-day calendar based on A Christmas Carol.

More and more and more Advent Calendars ....

Hmmmm ... maybe our Advent calendars are getting out of hand?

Naah ... We also do this one, which, like the Muppet calendar, was a gift from my mother years ago. We love this calendar. I have no idea where she got it, but every child loves to do this kind of simple activity. We hang one tiny wooden ornament per day on this wooden tree.


And, who can resist the chocolate-a-day-calendar? I have to confess that my kids do not get the highest quality chocolate in this kind of calendar, as I buy mine at the dollar store. But, they love them anyway, and it's a yummy way to count down the days.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We will also:

* fill an empty manger to make a soft bed for the long-awaited Baby Jesus (I simply use a small basket, set up in a central location, and pieces of yarn)

* decorate a Christ candle (I use an inexpensive white candle, and the kids decorate it with sequins and jewels; it sits in the middle of the Advent wreath but will not be lit until Christmas day)

* ready Mary and Joseph for their long journey (their figures are placed as far from the Nativity set as possible, and the kids move them a little closer to the stable each day.)

(These three activities and others are mentioned in this wonderful article by Michaelann Martin, which you can see for more details.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, we will:

*Read all our favorite Advent books

Warning, warning: this will require a separate post!


Part VIII: Why We Read Advent Books (or, "In Which I Am Imogene Herdman")



(I originally wrote this essay for Cay Gibson's book, Christmas Mosaic, An Illustrated Book Study for Advent and Christmas,which is a wonderful resource for books, activities and recipes to use throughout Advent and the entire Christmas season.)

The Nativity

I remember when I first met Him – that Child who was born in Bethlehem. I didn’t bump into Him in my childhood (though I now know He was there all along.) No, our first encounter -- the one in which I was really a participant -- came when I was older. I was a twenty-something atheist, and a Catholic friend recommended C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to me. “Pay special attention,” he suggested, “to the character of Aslan.”

My friend had a way of recommending things that dramatically changed my life, so I read the book. As urged, I “paid special attention” to Aslan, and I fell in love with him. And I fell in love with Him, though I still didn’t fully understand Who it was that I loved. But I knew I wanted to hold Aslan forever, in my arms and in my heart. Like Susan and Lucy, I wanted to bury my face in His mane, inhale His sweetness, and never let go.

A few years later, the same friend gave me Barbara Robinson’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, in which “awful old” Imogene Herdman (while playing Mary in the Christmas pageant) is walloped with the story of Jesus for the first time in her short, rough life. She can hardly bear the weight of the irony and the beauty. And as I read about little Imogene bawling her eyes out, I began to sob. I loved Imogene fiercely, and realized that I loved her because I was Imogene: I was that sad little girl who’d never known Jesus, but who one day collided headlong with the reality and power of Him. The God of the universe had bowled Imogene over and she would never be the same. Neither would I.

What changed the Herdmans, the Pevensies, and me? That child born in Bethlehem two millennia ago.

That child. It’s hard to fathom, isn’t it? A child, born in a stable, in poverty, to a virgin. A child raised by a foster-father in relative obscurity. A child who for many years was nothing more than a carpenter’s son. A child.

The Christ Child set a Herdman sobbing, made perfectly sensible little British girls follow a lion for the rest of their lives, and He crumbled my unbelief.

Such is the power of our precious Jesus, and of the books written about Him. Although I wasn’t raised on beautiful tales of our Lord, I know the compelling power of books. I want to share with my own children everything I can about Him. I want to give them the gifts of picture books, chapter books, the Bible. I want to give them storytelling, fine art and great music. I hope to introduce them, through these things, to the Source of all that is good, and true and beautiful. I pray my daughters will remember countless, sublime meetings with Him, and will yearn to inhale His sweetness, the sweetness of that baby in a manger.

That baby was born for us. He lived and died for us.

He loves us so much.

Let’s pay special attention.


Part IX: Favorite Advent Books

In December, our favorite Advent and Christmas books sit under our Jesse Tree, like the gifts that they are.

Here, in no particular order (and with links to past posts that contain more detail, in some cases) are some of our favorite books.

And, here's the "no panic" part: Although we own many of these, we certainly don't own them all. I make generous use of the library and then every year, I purchase one or two new books to add to our collection.

Here' s the other "no panic" part: We don't read all of these every year. We'll definitely read our dearest favorites, but other books will rotate. For example, one year, we really focused on all of the American Girl Christmas stories, and we baked related treats, learned more about Christmas in other times and places, etc. But, we don't always get back to those books every year. Read and do what works for you.





The Donkey's Dream by Barbara Helen Berger is an all-round favorite.

In this post, I talked about it, and about "how literature teaches us beautiful things."







The first time we read The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey I cried a bucket. What a touching story about love and patience, healing and Christmas. Recommended with vigorous nodding of the head and tears in my eyes.








As I said in this post, The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas is out of print, but used copies are floating around. A very sweet story by Madeleine L'Engle, and worth hunting down.








The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale is a story that can be read anytime, but is especially good for Advent and Lent.

It's a simple, beautifully illustrated book that helps children to see that God will answer our prayers, but not always in ways we can foresee.







The feast of St. Nicholas has us reading The Miracle of Saint Nicholas (Golden Key Books) and The Real Santa Claus: Legends of Saint Nicholas (Yikes! Looks like that one's gotten rare.)






Alas, we do not own this one, but must request it via inter-library loan each year. Used copies of this book, written once-upon-a-time by Little House author Melissa Wiley, go for staggering amounts and so we must be happy with our annual library check-out.

Our must-read on St. Lucia day, along with saint books that tell us more about St. Lucy.





We love Tomie de Paola's The Legend of the Poinsettia and The Night of Las Posadas. And, don't forget Jingle the Christmas Clown and An Early American Christmas (yikes, two more rare books! Check your library and watch your library sales.) Country Angel Christmas is a sweet one, too. And, anything else by Tomie de Paola that we can find.






 My sister gave The Legend of the Candy Cane to Anne-with-an-e when she was very little. A very sweet book.










It has become a tradition that both The Legend of the Candy Cane and Jan Brett's The Night Before Christmas must be read by Atticus on Christmas Eve.








Gennady Spirin's rendering of The Christmas Story is gorgeously illustrated. I think I bought this one for me.











Okay, so I cry a lot. Yes, I cried at this one, too. A lot. Love this book. Silver Packages is beloved by all the females in the house. Atticus has probably never read it, but then, he doesn't love to cry.






More and more:

The Legend of the Christmas Rose by William Hooks
Bright Christmas : An Angel Remembers by Andrew Clements
This Is the Star by Joyce Dunbar
Jesus by Brian Wildsmith
A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith
The Gift of the Magi (this version, illustrated by P.J. Lynch, is on my wish list for "Books to Add This Year")
Hark! A Christmas Sampler by Jane Yolen
This Is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten
The Story of Christmas (Orchard Paperbacks) by Jane Ray
The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell (just ignore the faulty theology. Sorry. I can't help it.)
Jacob's Gift by Max Lucado
Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories by L.M. Montgomery
The Christmas Story by Kay Chorao
A Little House Christmas Treasury: Festive Holiday Stories (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
American Girl Christmas Books

And, of course:

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
and
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis



Part X: Don't forget 


It's the second Sunday of Advent. We've begun our preparations for Christmas, our favorite Advent observations are in place or are unfolding, and if they're not, we're not panicking.

We're savoring the liturgical season, we're reading beautiful (and sometimes goofy, as Atticus reminded me in this comment) books with the kids, and we're teaching them about watching, waiting, and preparing for the Lord.

But, what are we doing for ourselves?

I will grant you that all of the things we do for our children during Advent are done for us, too. We can benefit enormously from the books we read, the talks we have, the thought and consideration we give to our preparation. But, sometimes, it isn't enough, or it isn't exactly what we need. God wants not only for our children to be prepared but for us mothers to be ready, too.

During these weeks before Christmas, don't forget to do something for your own spiritual growth.

What do you want to do?

What do you need to do?

It doesn't have to be monumental. It just needs to draw you closer to the One who came for you, lived and died for you, and wants you to be with Him for all eternity.

What might help?

• A book you've been meaning to read
• More time with Scripture
• A single Scripture verse on which to meditate ("The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is His name," from Luke 1:49 can lead to endless, grateful meditation ....)
• A saint's biography or a collection of quotes from the saints
• An extra five or ten minutes of prayer a day
• A promise to give up complaining
• A promise to give up something else until the joy of Christmas arrives
• Daily devotional readings for the season

Something.

You know what it is for you, and I know what it is for me.

Remember: not only are we awaiting His arrival ....

He's waiting for us.


(The painting: The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1859-1937.)

Part XI: Upcoming Feasts and St. Lucia Bread

The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Catholic Cuisine has easy, doable ideas for "Rosy Treats" here and other festive foods here.

We haven't gone all out for this feast day in the past, because I've always been overwhelmed busy, but not panicked, by other observances. But, this year, I added Tomie de Paola's The Lady of Guadalupe to our book collection. I won't get any special baking done for this feast, but I'll gather a few other resources from the web to share with the girls about Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Saturday is the feast of St. Lucia, and with it comes the Lucia bread.


Do not be intimidated by this yeast bread recipe!

If I can make this bread (and make it look beautiful), anyone can. Really. Trust me on this. This bread is easy. A little time-consuming (for a woman who, when left on her own, could easily eat tuna out of a can and call it a meal) but easy.

And, as I mentioned in this post, if you don't have time to make it this weekend, save the recipe and make it another day. It makes a great King's Bread for the Epiphany, too.

Here's the recipe, which came to me from my friend, Holly, and to Holly via Family Fun:

Braided St. Lucia Bread

Dough:
1 1/2 cups milk
2 (1/4 oz.) pkgs. active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar, plus 1 T. sugar
6 T. butter, cut in pieces
2 large eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
1 T. finely grated orange rind
1 t. salt
5 1/2 - 6 1/2 cups flour

Glaze and garnish:
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
2-4 T. orange juice
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Warm the milk in a small saucepan, then pour 1/2 cup of it into a large bowl. Add the yeast and 1 T. of the sugar and let it sit for 5 min.

Melt the butter in the remaining milk. Add butter/milk mixture to the yeast mixture. Whisk in the eggs, juice, 1/4 cup sugar, orange rind, and salt. Stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough can be gathered into a ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 min., adding more flour until the dough is smooth and elastic and doesn't stick to your hands. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning it once to coat it. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough and divide it into 3 equal parts. Roll each part into a 30-inch rope and braid the ropes together. Transfer the braid to a greased baking sheet, pinch together the ends to form a circle and let it rise until doubled in size, about 45 min. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 min., or until golden brown, then let cool on a wire rack about 30 min.

For the glaze, stir together the confectioner's sugar and orange juice until smooth. Drizzle over the bread, then garnish with cranberries. Add candles for "wreath."

And here are some things we've done in the past to celebrate St. Lucia:

Made wreaths for daughters and dolls

Found something (anything white) for the girls to wear for a St. Lucia procession through the house, and read Hanna's Christmas.

Employed "flexible homeschooling" in an off-year (i.e., when Ramona was still keeping me up every night, for the third year in a row of her fabulous life), and didn't sweat the imperfection known as "not doing it all" and also known as "moving St. Lucia day to a Saturday," which is not necessary this year, as it conveniently falls on a Saturday.


Part XII: A Prayer

Dear Lord,

When I become harried
and impatient,
when I think I have too much to do
and not enough time,
when I feel burdened
by obligations,
responsibilities,
activities and
busy-ness,
please, Lord,
give me the grace to remember,
always to remember,
that my obligations,
responsibilities,
activities and busy-ness
spring from
an abundance of blessings.
Enormous, ineffable blessings.
Help me to see my busy days
and busy ways
as the privilege and the gift
that they are.

Help me to remember, pray for,
and tangibly support
those who are not "burdened"
by too much to eat,
too much to bake,
too much to decorate,
too many books to read.

Help me, Lord, to see the Advent of Your birth
as a time to remember all of these things,
to drop to my knees and thank You,
always to thank You,
for so much undeserved Love. 


Rejoice! (Part XIII of a No-Panic Advent)

Gaudete Sunday! Rejoice!

We are more than halfway through Advent, and the celebration of the birth of our Savior will soon arrive.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!" ~~ Philippians 4:4

And, do not panic! I know that Christmas is only, oh, say, tennish days away. But, again, I say: do not panic!

Unless you're Jennifer, and you also have your daughter's First Holy Communion approaching. Jennifer has free reign to panic.

But, the rest of us are called to remember that even though we're headed down the path of busy-ness, if some of that busywork falls by the wayside, or is someone gets the flu and all your plans are for naught, or if something this year just isn't quite right, isn't the perfection you had hoped for, it's okay. Christ will still come. He came two thousand years ago, He is here now, He will arrive for Christmas, and He will remain with us always.

Again I say, rejoice!

"Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." ~~ 1Thess. 5:16-18

Part XIV: A Week Before Christmas -- Do You Know Where Your Daughter's Tights Are?

One week until Christmas!

What do I still need to make? Buy? Wrap?

Who has a birthday in December that I've completely forgotten? (I'll remember Jesus, of course, but others? Friends? Family? Who needs a birthday card?)

Have I thought about those stockings that will soon hang over the fireplace, and about what will go in them?

Speaking of stockings, when Christmas Mass rolls around will all of my children have tights/socks without holes/hose without runs? Clothes that fit? Shoes that won't send them into last-minute snits? Some mothers might buy festive new clothes each Christmas, but others do a little jig of joy when everything from last year (or in Ramona's case, the most current Christmas hand-me-down) fits. Yes. That'd be me.

And, let's be totally honest here. The problem with writing and running a "No-Panic Advent" series is that at some point any sane, normal, writer-mom will panic.

I did. I have panicked.

"Hi, my name is Karen, and I'm a fake."

Well, not really. I haven't had any cataclysmic meltdowns, haven't taken anyone's head off (well, not completely, and I did tell Anne-with-an-e that I was sorry for being snippy), and I haven't run from the house, ripping my hair out and screeching, "I thought I had more gift bags!" (No, I calmly drove to the store, and merely felt like screeching when the check-out clerk insisted that the "50% off all Christmas wrap" sign directly above the gift bags was not misleading because the bags were not, and have never been, on sale. Okay.)

But I've had my moments. Suddenly, it seems, Christmas is almost here, and there are things I've forgotten, things on which I fell behind, things I haven't gotten around to (and actually, for you sticklers, that should be, "things to which I haven't gotten around," but as Winston Churchill said of preposition placement, "There are some things up with which I will not put.")

Last night, when I went to have coffee with two friends, I practically threw their Christmas gifts at them and said, "Now I can cross you off my list." I was kidding, of course, but there is something to that awful, "Must ... Do ... During ... Advent .... " spell under which we all fall.

Sometimes things providentially pop up, things that help us rearrange our priorities. For example, although we always celebrate St. Lucia Day, this year was different. Some friends were available at the last minute and able to have our kids overnight while Atticus and I ran away for a one-night vacation. We've never left all three of our girls before, so it was the proverbial big deal. We jumped on it and were thrilled we did. We had a great time, and Ramona survived the separation (although, after our reunion she noted, "I did miss you more than I can say. And I love you dearly.") We missed doing our traditional St. Lucia activities (the bread, however, had been consumed and eaten two days prior), but when I felt a pang about that, I reminded myself that "no panic" means accepting what God allows.

Sometimes it's a refreshing one-night vacation.

Other times, it means someone is throwing up on Christmas Eve.

Whatever happens, we can rest assured that He knows about it. And He'll get us through.

So, when I start to panic, I go back to my prayer. It grounds me. It reminds me that Christmas is not about shopping and doing, and not about presents (with the exception of the Ultimate Gift.) Rather, it is about sin and redemption, about panic and apologies.

And, it will come, as the Grinch learned, whether it is surrounded by all our cultural, habitual trappings or not. It will come to our sloppy, imperfect selves, and when it does, I need only ask myself, "Is Jesus pleased with what I've given Him this Advent, and in this Christmas season, or is He wagging His finger at me?"

If I sense any Divine finger-wagging, then I can get a head-start on the next to-do list: spiritual resolutions for the new year.

Because He's all about beginnings, this God of ours.

Now, I'm off to cross "tights" off my shopping list.

To Santa or Not to Santa?


There are always Santa conversations at this time of year.

We're all busy, so I'll make this quick.

We do "No-Panic Santa."

I don't worry about it. Honestly, I don't. When Anne-with-an-e was a baby, I worried (a lot) that lying about Santa would mean that one day she'd think I'd lied about God, too. When she was two years old, people would ask her what Santa was going to bring, and she'd stare blankly at them, wondering who in the world they were talking about.

But then, my own past Santa fun crept into our Christmas traditions, and so, yes, we started "doing" Santa. (Why does this blog always sound slightly confessional? "Hi, I'm Karen. And I lie about Santa.")

Well, I don't out and out lie. I imply. I play a game. We get a visit from St. Nicholas on his feast day ... we have presents from him on Christmas morning ... We wink, we leave cookies, we love the magic.

And, although I completely respect the many different ways that good Catholic parents handle this question, here's the reason I don't worry that "the Santa lie" will lead to atheism:

God is real.

My children will know, see, and feel His fingerprints on their lives. We have seen God at work, and we know He isn't the stuff of toyshops and flying reindeer.

Yes, Ramona will learn that Santa was just a lot of fun pretending. But, she'll also know that Jesus is a powerful King.

Feelings on Santa vs. no-Santa are subjective and personal, and I would never say that my way is universally the best. I can understand the other side. I'm just saying that personally I no longer fret over it. And, since there's no doctrine of the Church that says we must not do Santa, I think I'm in faithful territory.

And, sometimes, even the most roundabout of ways of celebrating things can have lovely, unexpected, faith-filled results. I thought of that when I reread this old post on Santa, at The Wine Dark Sea.

Melanie writes,

"The Santa myth can be in our secular world a sort of pre-gospel."

I completely agree. As someone who grew up with Santa, but without religion in Christmas, I can say that Santa was indeed pre-Gospel for me. Santa was unconditional love. The times I was bad? He never left me a lump of coal. Not once. (Thanks, Mom and Dad.)

And Santa was magic.

God is the ultimate Unconditional Love and the True Magic.

I know that somewhere, deep down, the child who loved Santa was yearning for Christ.

And He came to me. Just as Santa did. But when He came, the Magic was bigger, and powerful.

And when He came, the Magic was here to stay.

******************************************

12/24/08 Edited to add this great bit of G.K. Chesterton, courtesy of Chris in the comments:

On Christmas morning, he [Chesterton] remembered, his stockings were filled with things he had not worked for, or made, or even been good for.

The only explanation people had was that a being called Santa Claus was somehow kindly disposed toward him. “We believed,” he wrote, that a certain benevolent person “did give us those toys for nothing. And ... I believe it still. I have merely extended the idea.

“Then I only wondered who put the toys in the stocking; now I wonder who put the stocking by the bed, and the bed in the room, and the room in the house, and the house on the planet, and the great planet in the void.

“Once I only thanked Santa Claus for a few dolls and crackers, now I thank him for stars and street faces and wine and the great sea. Once I thought it delightful and astonishing to find a present so big that it only went halfway into the stocking.

“Now I am delighted and astonished every morning to find a present so big that it takes two stockings to hold it, and then leaves a great deal outside; it is the large and preposterous present of myself, as to the origin of which I can offer no suggestion except that Santa Claus gave it to me in a fit of peculiarly fantastic good will.”

********************************************

Aaahhh ... no one can say it quite like G.K. Thank you, Chris.

A No-Panic Advent, Part Who-Knows?: The Last-minute "To Do" List

Christmas Eve:

• Put Ramona's church bag together (just a couple of extra things for her to do and read while we wait and wait for Mass to begin)

• Bake the birthday cake for Jesus (not done yet, but it will look something like last year's cake):

• Make a pie

• Watch in awe as my husband works various other food magic in the kitchen

• Look forward, with increasing anticipation, to the celebration of the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me

Wishing you a blessed, happy and holy Christmas Eve.


On the Sixth Day of Christmas ... (in which she finally talks about the Twelve Days)


We've been "keeping Christmas" here (translate: "keeping too busy to blog") so rather than talk about it, we've been celebrating and visiting friends (with a bit of work sprinkled in, just to keep me from becoming a slug.)

But I wanted to take a moment out to share some ideas on keeping the Twelve Days.

When we first started doing some of these things, my kids noticed that much of the world was dismantling Christmas Joy just as we were picking up speed. I told them (repeatedly, because that's a mother's job), "It's a shame the whole world doesn't realize that the Christmas season is just beginning! They don't know all the fun they're missing!" The harping instruction paid off. They get it. And Ramona, who has never known any other way, is the first to correct one of us if we call Advent "the Christmas season." Which can be kind of irritating, but endearing. Mostly endearing.

Ideas:

• Keep your tree up until the Feast of the Epiphany, of course

• Read with the kids about the twelve days

• Keep watching Christmas shows and movies, continue reading Christmas books

• Post prayers for the season (I put them up on the wall in our kitchen -- our page of prayer intentions for the Christmas season is accented with glitter. One can never have too much glitter)

• Send Christmas greetings during the 12 days ... and don't apologize for it -- it's the Christmas season! Mine went out yesterday and today

• Observe the Epiphany -- have a Twelfth Night party, or make Kings' bread (the St. Lucia bread works well, or perhaps make a "King Cake" -- Google it for endless possibilities. Other ideas are here at Catholic Cuisine)

• Give Epiphany gifts (as large or small as you want them to be)

• Have the wise men from your Nativity set travel through the house during the 12 days, making their way to the stable

• We always make our gingerbread houses (Santa leaves kits) during the Twelve Days

I just found this page at Catholic Culture. You can click on each day of the Twelve Days for a new activity and recipe.

In keeping with the "No Panic" philosophy, don't try to incorporate twenty-seven new things into a twelve day period. Pick a couple, and put the rest in the file.

If you have other ideas to share, please leave them in the comments, and I'll add to them to this post.

12/31/08: Edited to add ideas:

From Sarah, who inspired this post:

I have some friends whose kids open one gift a day for each of the 12 days, some gifts are larger and some are very small like what might be used as a stocking stuffer. We're considering that for next year. We read The Three Wise Kings by Tomie de Paola a few weeks ago and I'm planning to pull it check it out from the library again to read this week.

From Jenn:
We read all our Christmas books and bake a festive cookie every other day or so (instead of all at once like I used to do.) We read The Legend of Old Befana on January 5th and make pizzelles on Epiphany. That's the only thing set in stone. I also finally found the frankincense and myrrh incense I bought last year. Lucy's conveniently learning "We Three Kings" on piano.
Our priest was talking about the peace of Christ on Christmas Eve. I've always hoped for a peaceful Advent and it struck me as very fitting that night that that peace I've longed for arrives the very moment we gather to celebrate Christ's birth and is very tangible throughout the Christmas season.

from Margaret in Minnesota:

We keep the season by talking about the 12 Days of Christmas--specifically, the Christian symbolism of each of the days. And we don't sweat the "small" stuff, like getting cards and presents out "on time". As my dear friend Sarah puts it, we're supposed to be living Christmas every day.

1/5/09 -- More ideas:

My friend, Mary P. writes: "I bought an Advent box at Starbucks. Behind each door was a piece of candy. Why not make one for the 12 days of Christmas? I think I know somebody that would like chocolate each day."

from the comments:

Amy says: "My kids were thrilled to get a little bag with their own kid-friendly versions of gold (chocolate coins), frankincense (scratch-n-sniff stickers), and myrrh (bubble bath)."

Connie's Daughter says: "You know, Karen, the Christmas Season goes until the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, which this year is on Jan. 11th. We usually keep our tree up until then, and we have lots of treats throughout the entire time, ice cream being our favorite. :) And even though the world has moved on, I continue to wear my Christmas sweaters and earrings and socks. Our Nativity set is still being lit each night in our yard, too!"




Twelfth Night!


It's still Christmas!

Though we American parishes celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany on Sunday, today is the Twelfth Day of the Christmas season, so feel free to celebrate the Epiphany again tomorrow. We plan to.

We made King's Bread (aka St. Lucia bread) today and although we're easing back into our "real life" routines this week (poor Atticus had to head back to work), we'll certainly take tomorrow off.

As Connie's Daughter reminded us in the comments on this post, even though tomorrow brings the Twelve Days to a close, we're still liturgically in the Christmas season until the Baptism of the Lord, on Sunday, Jan. 11th. The Catholic Culture link from the post I just mentioned has activities and recipes through that day (eighteen full days of fun) in addition to the twelve.

We just did gingerbread houses:



and I imagine we can find a few more things to read, eat and celebrate this week.

Merry Christmas!